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I'm getting ready to trade-in a 2006 HCH... 9,600 miles! Fed up with low mileage, recalls, lack of service. Incompetent technicians. Just getting run arounds by the dealer. Honda is really goofing up on these hybrids.

Sorry about the bad dealer you've got. Any chance in visiting another dealer?

Here are a few additional questions:

Is your "poor" mileage something you're observing right now with this weather?

If so, then we're all in the same ship here. Cold temperatures will bring down the mileage for ANY car. The HCH is not an exception. What have your temps been recently?

Second question:

Do you use a block heater at all?

Third question:

How long are your drives?
Short drives where the car basically has no chance to warm up are absolute FE killers for any car. The HCH is no exception.

Unhappy

Yes, MSantos, I read the article and everything I can find. I am driving the car in a very conservative fashion... using Cruise on the highways, accelerating gently, warming the car up nicely in the mornings... don't know what else to do. Service dept. can't tell me what my gas mileage is??? Is there a way of knowing through the dealer, when they service the car, what the "actual" mpg is??? I happen to be a great mathematician... and on average, highyway, in city... my mpg is 35 and less... city only... 20's. My Accord far exceeded that. I was getting 42-48 MPG on highways using cruise. I'm at a loss.

You mean, you warm the car by idling it before driving off ? If this is what you do then let me say that this is the absolute worst thing you can do. There's is absolutely no good reason to idle your car.
The best alternative is to get a block heater installed. I humbly suggest you do that if your temps even approach freezing.

No service department will tell you what your mileage is. The car's systems do not record a commutative mileage at all. Provided that the car's system check OK, the mileage you acquire is the direct result of:

The distance trip duration.

How you operate the car.

How cold it is.

How the car is setup (weight in the trunk, improperly inflated tires, etc)

There are two critical ways of determining your mileage:
- Use your instrumented trip meters as indicated in Tarabell's article and your owner's manual.
- Perform the mileage calculations at the time you fill your tank. This is the most accurate and reliable method.

Hi again MSantos... Yes, I start the car, let it sit a few short minutes, then back out of the garage. This is recommended according to the Manual.

SEcondly, the Manager of the Dealership told me clearly, "Oh yes, when the technicians plug in your car, they can tell via computer, your exact gas-mileage. Didn't they tell you what it was? I will have to speak to them." Now, I am so confused, and getting quite upset. Actually, livid.

Sorry to hear that Gman1964. I'm in northern Illinois and my mpg has dropped with the decreasing temp. I've done some of the tips suggested by MSantos (pipe insulation over air intakes and increased tire pressure from 32 to 40 psi) and have increased my mpg to 43 and that has been during several snow and ice storms and sub 20F temps. I still do not have an engine block heater and plan to look into that after the holidays. The engine block heater should eliminate the need to warm the car up. I do not idle my car at all. I start it a go. I even make sure I'm completely ready to go with seatbelt fastened before I turn the key. I do drive it gently until it warms up a bit. I'm far from an expert, but it sounds like something is not right with yours. I would be very upset as well.

"Yes, I start the car, let it sit a few short minutes, then back out of the garage. This is recommended according to the Manual."

I recall seeing (almost) the opposite, something to the effect that you should get going right away, unless the weather was very cold and the car had not been used for several days.

Just skimming through the pdf version of the 06 manual (very handy, if anyone's interested I'll try to find the link), I couldn't find anything. Page 165 is titled "Starting the engine", and provides no specifics on how long to idle.

To the Original Poster (I wish this forum would allow you to see the rest of the thread when composing a response): I've found cruise control detrimental to mileage. It's a dumb system, just trying to maintain your speed. Especially with rolling hills, and whenever there is other traffic, you are smarter and capable of better mileage. Keep the real-time mileage indicator (top left corner of speedometer display) showing, and keep an eye on it.

For example, if you encounter a small hill of short duration: letting your speed fall off slightly, and then regaining that speed going down the far side of the hill, is better than having the cruise control accelerating up the hill.

Hi again MSantos... Yes, I start the car, let it sit a few short minutes, then back out of the garage. This is recommended according to the Manual.

Gman1964, there's your answer!!

I do not recall ever seeing a recommendation in the manual to idle the car's engine for warm-up. To put it mildly it is always a VERY bad thing to have the engine idling unnecessarily for more than 15-30 seconds.

It is a technical no-no.

It wastes fuel and money

It kills your engine

It ruins your mileage

It pollutes needlessly

No engineer or technically astute (certified) person would ever recommend you warm-up your car via idling. You also will not find that recommendation in any user's manual for any car.

Please install a block heater and do not idle. Warm-up idling is very bad.

Originally Posted by Gman1964

SEcondly, the Manager of the Dealership told me clearly, "Oh yes, when the technicians plug in your car, they can tell via computer, your exact gas-mileage. Didn't they tell you what it was? I will have to speak to them." Now, I am so confused, and getting quite upset. Actually, livid.

They can tell you the "instantaneous mileage" not the "commulative mileage".

The readings that they get though the OBD-II port are identical to your iFCD display, and taking into account that they noticed nothing wrong with the car's systems then I will agree with them that there's nothing wrong with your car at all.

Here's the key to your success:

Please do not warm up the car by idling. This just kills your mileage !!!!